NORFOLK, Va. — An Eastern Shore man has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally havrvesting striped bass in violation of a federal law known as the "Lacey Act."
According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Norfolk, 52-year-old Keith J. Martin of Saxis was a commercial fisherman licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia to harvest striped bass.
In court, the U.S. Attorney stipulated that between 2018 and 2020, Martin routinely violated Virginia state law in the harvesting of striped bass from Virginia waters.
They said that in 2018 and 2019, Martin had a quota of 4,010 pounds of striped bass, but that he sold 6,000 pounds of striped bass to a single seafood company in Maryland in 2018 and over 4,300 pounds to the same company in 2019.
In addition to selling bass in excess of his quota, Martin failed to report the amount of bass he took, and completed at least one sale of striped bass with a commercial purchaser without using a properly certified scale.
These infractions fell under Federal jurisdiction because harvesting of the striped bass was in violation of Virginia law, and coupled with transporting it in interstate commerce to Maryland, constitutes a violation of the Lacey Act.
During this period, prosecutors said Martin illegally harvested and sold at least 12,663 pounds of striped bass, with a commercial value of at least $36,988.25.
Martin is scheduled to be sentenced on October 26. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, although actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
